The new computer came today. A nice brand new shinny laptop, complete with , and Windows, a slip case to carry it in, However, there's was something missing; a clean operating system. It is so loaded with bloatware and junk-ware, that's its hard to use. Figuring out Windows 8.1 is interesting enough without having to deal with getting rid of crap-ware. Once I get rid of the extra stuff this promises to to a very nice machine for years to come. It took me a hour from the the time I hit power until I got the windows start screen the first time I started it up. Fist one must set the time &date in the bios,(Yes we still Have Them). then its on to go through a series of menus to customize it, Most of which are redundant, and can be changed later if one needs to. What I particularly dislike was the fact that I HAD to create a Microsoft account before I ever got to the window screen. The User name/email/ password, became my sign on for logging into the computer. Which in a way I guess is good, but it seems to be another way for something to go wrong. Finely I got into the "Wonderful World of Windows". Window 8.1 doses have a learning curve, but once I played around with it for most of a evening, I think I have much of what I need of it figured out. First thing I did was use Explorer to download Chrome, and sign in and synced my account, so all my stuff is there. NICE. Now I have Chrome and switching between the windows apps screen and desktop pretty much in hand. All that is needed is to get rid of the bloatware-and general crap that I have on it. starting with the anti virus that it came with, and several other programs that are trying to "help" me. Getting a new computer is a way to start fresh and to in many ways begin again. In a world where everyone keep their world either on hard drives or in the clouds somewhere. On whats must balance. A new computer is a chance to go though and see what programs and the like you have on the old one that you don't use or never really needed in the first place. In a time where everyone literately has their own machine . Keeping your information safe is vital, and so is backing it up. I believe in three copies of everything.1. Original on local hard drive, 2. On a separate drive not connected to machine all time. backed up on a regular basis, 3rd, Off site back up; some in the cloud or a off site location, so if computer is destroyed, house burns downs, both local copies are gone, for whatever reason, you still have 3rd copy off site to back up from, this applies mostly to stuff you can't recreate, ie, pictures, and possibly music collections. Security is a high priority to most everyone theses days. As it should be. So remember to use hard passwords, and be careful not to let them get gout. In fact change your password every few months, if not sooner depending on the level of security you need. As for being tracked; just assumed you are, because in all likely hood you are by someone, be it Google, or other search engine, and all the site you visit are racking you, maybe not by name per say, but they do keep a pretty good profile on their visitors. I have seen research that shows that many times they're profiles are way off the mark in many respects, which can either be a good or bad thing. Point is they collect information, everything from your phone, to your computer, to your cable/sat boxes, they know what your watching and when, and I've even heard of technology for them to delivered targeted ads groups of individuals based on location, time, and age range etc.

In the last 25 years the nation as a whole since the invasion of the microchip has been steadier and steadier more dependent of technology to help us with our daily lives. many of couldn't run our business with the internet, email, and IM, etc. In fact a great many of our business now exist solely because of our new technologies. In a world a fart can be heard around the world, one ask oneself how much do we really need? And more importantly what are the prices we're willing to pay? For every step for have everything in our hands in a second, we loose many of of our rights to privacy, and amenity, and just fading into the background. Because there is no more background to fade into. Its all been turned into a wall or servers full of our lives on hard drives for any government agency who suddenly take a notion to make our lives miserable, just or not, it has the power, to force the owners of those data filled servers with our digital lives on them, to hand over whatever they have, thus letting them into our private lives, to places they have no right to be, and be fore now there wouldn't even be. I've heard folks make the argument,"I have nothing to hide" I doubt that, I'm sure there a very few people who are that much of a open book. I've heard the notion, that they trust the government not to spy on us, "Wake up and smell the Coffee" The Government has been spying on us in one way or anther for one excuse since Hoover, started the FBI, Now we have Homeland Security, DEA, and a host of other 3 & 4 Letter agency who can if they want get warrants with little or no probable cause to spy on us anytime. Once that start doing that it won't take long to ruin your lie, reputation. Or even put you in jail. That's not counting what the next administration is capable of doing, This administration has proved itself to be pretty untrustworthy. One can hope the next cleans house, but I'm not holding breath. You go ahead and trust them, I won't. Our country was founded on the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Over the last few decades, those rights have been under attack from almost every front imaginable, what they can't do on the national level, they're trying to do on state and local levels, slowly wedging a divide into our country. Government has seen to forget that it works FOR the people, not the other way around.So with Christmas coming soon. and the excitement of presents under the tree, and family together, please remember to be safe, not in only what you do here in the real world, but in what you do in the Digital World.